Vishakhapatnam: High voltage drama unfolded during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy encounter between Karnataka-Hyderabad.
After winning the toss Hyderabad skipper Ambati Rayudu invited Karnataka to bat first. The controversial incident took place in the fourth ball of the second over when Mohammad Siraj bowled a length delivery to Karun Nair. Nair flicked the ball towards mid-wicket boundary. Mehdi Hassan came running to pick the ball. Hassan did pick the ball before it reached the boundary but his left leg was clearly touching the rope.
On field umpire Ulhas Gandhe did not refer to the third umpire at that moment and awarded two runs.
However, at the end of the inning the decision was reversed and two more runs were added to Karnataka’s score which eventually became 205.
Hyderabad players led by captain Ambati Rayudu protested over addition of two runs to the total but the umpires stood by their decision.
After the incident, Hyderabad went off to a blistering start. Openers Tanmay Agarwal and Akshath Reddy quickly added 70 for the first wicket. But after the openers were gone, Hyderabad went on to lose wickets in quick succession. Bavanaka Sandeep anchored the inning and kept Hyderabad in the game.
In the final over Sandeep got run out and Hyderabad eventually lost by two runs.
The addition of two runs in the first inning became the decisive factor in the match.
The heated exchange did not finish even after the match and it led to a delayed the start of the second game between Andhra and Kerala. Later on the second match was reduced to a 13 over’s a side.
BCCI later in the evening tweeted from their official handle that incident is being investigated and appropriate action will be taken after the official report is submitted.
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